Constitutional Convention Task Force Debates Delegate Issues

A task force created to decide how a constitutional convention aimed at reforming New Jersey's property taxes met on November 23 to debate how delegates might be selected and whether they should be paid.

Task Force Chairman Carl Van Horn pushed off a proposal to hold a preliminary vote on whether a convention should be held, saying it will be up to the Legislature to decide if the convention question should be placed on the ballot.

Van Horn also delayed discussion of what the scope of a convention should be, such as whether it should be allowed to deal with state spending issues or just tax revenue.

Instead, the meeting focused on smaller issues, such as the possibilities of legislators being allowed to be convention delegates, legislative districts being used in picking delegates, the election of delegates during a general election in November or a special election and whether delegates should be paid.

No decisions were made, but a consensus emerged that delegates should be chosen from the 40 legislative districts. Some members argued the vote should be in the November general election with its higher turnout.

A question of whether delegates should be paid for serving in the convention, which is expected to take several months, ran into the question of whether lawmakers should be allowed to serve because the state Constitution bars legislators from being elected to another state office during their term unless they are elected governor or to a different house in the Legislature.